U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck wrote in an order dated Aug. 23:
Ultimately, the sum of all disputes and conflicts arising in the wake of the Diocese’s estrangement from TEC are more appropriately before, and will more comprehensively be resolved, in South Carolina state court. Therefore, Bishop Lawrence’s motion to abstain (ECF No. 13) is granted, thereby, dismissing this case without prejudice, and Bishop vonRosenberg’s motion for a preliminary inunction (EFC No. 6) is denied without prejudice.
The full order follows.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
